Trump Administration Moves to Repeal the BLM Rule that Modernized Land Management

In a continued attack on federal lands and the environment, the Trump Administration has announced its intention to rescind the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, more commonly known as the Public Lands Rule. This is a significant move backward from one of the most forward-looking conservation frameworks in recent Bureau of Land Management history.  

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Bob Wick-BLM (CC by 2.0)

The repeal paves the way for increased corporate exploitation of public lands and resources, ignoring both ecological science and significant community input. 

Finalized in 2024 with significant public support, the Public Lands Rule was developed to rebalance the BLM’s longstanding focus on extraction and industrial use — such as mining, oil and gas development, grazing, and logging — with the agency’s equally critical duty to conserve taxpayer-funded lands. The BLM manages 245 million acres of public lands across the U.S. under a “multiple use and sustained yield” framework established by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976.  

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John Ciccarelli/BLM

FLPMA provides management direction to the agency for developing land use plans, administering extractive activities, and protecting important places and resources. Regarding conservation, FLPMA instructs BLM to prioritize the protection of important fish, wildlife and other resources as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern; and, more generally, “protect the quality of ecological, environmental, [and other] values;” protect some lands in their natural condition; and, prevent undue and unnecessary degradation to lands and resources.  

Despite these responsibilities, only 14% of BLM-managed lands have been afforded conservation protections, while the vast majority remain open to extractive development.

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Tom Koerner/USFWS

The Public Lands Rule was designed to course-correct this imbalance: It explicitly affirms that conservation is a central tenet of BLM’s mission and equips the agency with modern tools to manage land sustainably in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss and growing human demands.  

The rule is three-pronged:  

1. Protect rare species, ecosystems, and cultural resources
2. Retore degraded landscapes  
3. Manage overall ecological resilience

The Public Lands Rule is based on common sense, scientifically grounded concepts to support land managers as the climate changes, biodiversity plummets, and human demands increase.  

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Bob Wick/BLM

For instance, the rule promotes ecological restoration in lands use and project planning, provides a process for establishing and conserving Areas of Critical Environmental Concern which are especially important for rare and at-risk wildlife, and requires BLM to periodically evaluate land health and restore degraded lands.

Public lands managed by BLM are home to over 300 species listed under the Endangered Species Act, along with more than 2,400 additional at-risk species. Iconic wildlife like the Mojave Desert Tortoise, pygmy rabbit, and the greater sage-grouse depend on these lands for survival. The Public Lands Rule is a critical step toward ensuring that these species, and the ecosystems they depend on, have a future.

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Watts/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

In its attempt to rescind the rule, the Trump administration blatantly ignoring science and undermining the foundational principles of public land stewardship. This proposed reversal threatens not only the ecological integrity of our public lands but also the legacy we leave for future generations. Now more than ever, the public must speak out against this regressive move and demand that BLM fulfill its full mission.